Thankfully Remembering

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” (Philippians 1:3)

We frequently see this verse of scripture on greeting cards and notes exchanged between Christians.

The Philippian jailer and his household probably made up part of the church of Philippi. Paul probably remembered the jailer’s conversion and the hospitality he showed Paul and Silas.

Lydia, the seller of purple, from the city of Thyatira, was the first convert at Philippi. When Paul and Silas left their friend, the jailer, they went to Lydia’s house. She was probably part of the Philippian church along with her household.

Then there was the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination. She was saved and was likely a part of that church.

Oh, how sweet are the memories of a Spirit filled church made up of Spirit filled, Godly people. No wonder Paul said in this letter, “I thank by God upon every remembrance of you.”

The Household of Faith

“And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16:34)

It should come as no surprise that this newly saved, born again Christian would invite these two men into his house and that they would accept his invitation. After all, these men were all members of the family of God: Paul, Silas, the jailer and the members of the jailer’s household. There is a bond of love among the members of the family of God.

He fed them. He knew first hand what jail-house food was. These brothers were welcome at his table and were invited to eat his food. The Bible says, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10)

He rejoiced, and rightly so. He had just gotten saved. There is no better reason to rejoice. He and his household had a new found faith, new found friends and a new family.

The Privilege of Obeying Christ

“…and was baptized, he and all his straightway (immediately)” (Acts 16:33)

Missionaries in a remote area were experiencing a time of phenomenal success, seeing old and young alike being saved. The missionaries decided they should start a required new converts’ class which would be mandatory before one could be baptized. When the missionaries learned about a teenage girl who had not signed up for the class they asked one of the villagers who had been saved about her.  “She must take the class or we cannot baptize her,” they said.  The villager replied, “She’s the one who shared the gospel with all of us and led us to saving faith in Christ.”

The jailer in our story was baptized upon his verbal profession of faith in Christ and verified his experience of faith by following the Lord in baptism. It is very similar to the profession of faith and baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts chapter eight.

I am an old man. I professed faith in Christ as an eight year old boy and was baptized shortly thereafter. If I and the group of all ages of people who where baptized with me on that Sunday afternoon had needed to take a class and pass some imposed test I might not have been baptized yet.

Baptism does not save. But it is the first act of obedience for a new believer. Who are we to deny someone the privilege of obeying Christ?

Washing Stripes

“And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes…” (Acts 16:33)

The jailer had just been shaken from his midnight sleep and from his lethargy concerning his lost condition. He had been told by Paul and Silas to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be saved. He had seen the unjust and harsh stripes laid on the backs of these two servants of the Lord. Without coercion or hesitation he washed their stripes.

We live in a cruel world where evil men do evil things, laying many stripes on innocent people. These hurting people all need caring people to go to them from Christ and figuratively or literally wash the stripes of the hurting and wounded.

Perhaps the jailer remembered the pain of lashes laid on his back sometime earlier. Whether or not he had experienced similar stripes, he knew washing stripes was what he must do.

If we look around we can find someone suffering from stripes that need our attention.  Has the Lord sent you to “wash the stripes” of someone?

The World’s Greatest Question

“…Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:30-31)

This is the world’s most important question. How it is answered will determine one’s eternal destiny. Many answers have been suggested. For instance, one suggestion is, “Bow down to the sun, moon and stars.”  Another suggestion is, “Be a good neighbor, a good parent, join a church and be baptized.” Some have even suggested, “It doesn’t matter as long as you believe something, are sincere in what you believe, and do the best you can.” But, none of these is the Biblical answer for one’s search for salvation.

Paul and Silas were precise and agreed on their answer. What they told the Philippian jailer is the correct Biblical answer. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” lines up with John 3:16 which says, “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus was precise when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

They further agreed that their answer was the right answer to everyone in the jailer’s house. It is the correct answer to all who ask, “What must I do to be saved?”

God’s Better Plan

“And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. (Acts 16:27)

Swords are designed to maim, kill or inflict pain. In this story we have a man who is seriously thinking of taking his life with his own sword. His sword was to be used to defend himself or to persuade prisoners under his watch to stay in line or to risk losing their lives.

The jailer supposed that the prisoners had fled. He knew that the Roman officials would take his life if the prisoners had escaped.  He had gone so far as to draw out his sword and was prepared to fall on it, taking his own life. If he had fallen on his sword he would have died as a lost man. But God had a much better plan. God’s servant used the “Sword of the Spirit,” the Bible, to tell the jailer about how to be saved. This sword, instead of taking the jailer’s life, gave him eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

When it looks like all hope is gone and you “suppose” that there is no way out of your situation, God has a plan that will work if you trust Him and wait for Him to work His plan.

Don’t Always Expect an Earthquake

“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.”(Acts 16:26)

The scene is a jail in Philippi. The time is midnight. Two servants of the Lord Jesus are incarcerated in the inner prison with their feet securely fastened in stocks.  The two servants, Paul and Silas are praying and singing.

An earthquake shakes the prison and all the doors fly open and all the shackles are loosed. You and I as Christians can always expect trouble; Jesus said so. But we cannot always expect an earthquake to change our situation. Yes, sometimes God sends an earthquake. But, I remind you that Paul, one of the men in this story, would die in Rome at the hands of an executioner with no earthquake to deliver him.

You may go through some trials without God’s miraculous intervention. But He promises to see you through it and to never leave you nor forsake you. Just prior to his execution in the Roman prison Paul said, “At my first answer no man stood with me…notwithstanding the Lord stood with me…” (II Timothy 4:16, 17)

Praying at Midnight

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” (Acts 16:25)

Usually we think of people going to jail for doing bad things, like robbing a bank or selling drugs to school children or other bad things. However, Paul and Silas, two followers of Jesus Christ, were in jail for casting out a demon in the name of Jesus and for being on the receiving end of the false accusations of a mob. The magistrates tore off the clothes of these two Christians and commanded to beat them. They had many stripes laid on them before being cast into the inner prison and their feet securely fastened in stocks.

It was midnight and these two soldiers of the cross began to pray and sing praises to God.  They did not start singing, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…”

In our midnight hour it is good to have a worship service. Nothing is said of these men blaming God for their trouble. There was no complaining. There were no tears of sorrow for their circumstances. There was no “pity party.” When things go badly, and they sometimes will, have a time of prayer and praise.

Notice also that the prisoners heard them praying and singing praises to God. What an opportunity for sharing Christ and letting others see the difference Christ makes.

What Went Wrong?

“…yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.”(Jeremiah 7:26)

An article similar to the following came across my desk years ago. If I could recall the author I would give credit. Please accept it as I remember it.

“Suppose that a thousand years from now archaeologists exploring the ruins of America unearthed a “wheat-leaf” penny. As they examine it they are learning some facts about us.

• From the shape of the penny, a circle, they would know America was acquainted with shapes and forms.

• From the copper material they would gather that we were metallurgical people acquainted with metals.

• The bust of Lincoln would tell them that we appreciated art.

• The date would indicate that we were historical and kept records.

• The words, “United States of America” would say to them that we were a federated republic.

• “E Pluribus Unum” written on the penny would let them know that we knew more than one language and that out of many we were one.

• The wheat leaf would give some indication that we were an agricultural society.

• The words, “one cent’” would tell them we used currency in our transactions.

• On the penny are the words, “In God We Trust,” indicating to the explorers that we were religious.

Then they would ask themselves, “Wonder what went wrong: why did they fall into decay?” Then, one of them might remember our text from an unearthed Bible found in one of their digs. As he explored the surrounding passages of scripture he could easily conclude the many similarities of America to Judah. “Could that have been the problem with the United States of America?” he would ask.

The Bible Will Keep You from Sin or Sin Will Keep You from the Bible

“…behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10)

Storm clouds of God’s judgment on the nation of Judah were on the horizon. They had ignored the warnings of God through His prophets, had committed, “spiritual adultery,” with false gods and as Jeremiah said, they had forgotten God, “days without number.”

Our text says that the word of God was a reproach to Judah. They had no delight in what God said. How different from the blessed man or happy man of Psalm One:“His delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)  Judah’s neglect of God’s word and the God of the word resulted in their captivity to the Chaldeans for seventy years.

Today in America, the Bible is still a best seller but I wonder if we really delight in it or are its words a reproach to millions of people in regard to homosexuality, abortion, adultery, honesty, lying, faithfulness to the worship of God and morality in general?

The Bible is not a comic book that we can take or leave, toss in a corner, and ignore without serious consequences. God takes His word very seriously. Woe to any nation, people or person who neglects the teaching of God’s word.

Praying Early in the Day

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, Oh LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” (Psalm 5:3)

Early morning is a good time to pray. The Model Prayer suggests morning praying in the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread.” At bed time would not be the best time to pray for God to supply the needs for the day just ended. At bed time we might pray for forgiveness of sins we committed during the day and to thank Him for His blessings during the day. It would be a good time to ask Him for His protection during the night. 

This psalm is suggesting that we start our day with the Lord; that we not wait for a calamity to strike and then pray. Early morning praying is similar to saying, “Good morning,” to a family member whom you have not seen all night. He’s just been waiting for you to wake up so He can share the day with you. It pleases Him when He hears your voice call His name.

An old song asks the question, “ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” Let God hear your voice calling on Him every morning.

Why the Bible was Written

“For whatsoever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

A man from Ethiopia was riding in his chariot and reading from the fifty-third chapter of the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Another man, Philip, was directed by the Holy Spirit to go to the Ethiopian. As a result of the man’s reading that ancient prophecy and Philip’s explanation of what it said, the Ethiopian was saved.  He was given hope through the Word of God.

An elderly lady was at the funeral of her husband of sixty-five years. Her pastor used as his text for the message the Twenty-Third Psalm. When the pastor read, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me…” she was comforted and received hope as thousands before her have experienced.

Expose yourself to the Word of God for patience, comfort, hope, instruction, admonition, exhortation, direction and joy.

Pray Again

“And he prayed again.” (James 5:18)

None of us have prayed to the point that we cannot pray some more about something. James is referring to Elijah the prophet who prayed that it not rain and for three and one half years there was no rain. Our text says that “he prayed again,” and it rained.

When the Apostle Paul prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh might be taken away, God answered by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you.” He stopped praying for his thorn in the flesh but prayed for other needs. He prayed that his physical kindred of Israel would be saved. He thanked God for the Philippian church. He prayed for the church in Thessalonica and many, many more prayers.

Jesus sometimes prayed all night. Other times He arose long before daylight and prayed. He prayed for a blind man, for a deaf man, for a dead man named Lazarus. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed on the cross. He prayed again and again.

There are needs all about us. When God answers a prayer, it is not a signal that our prayers are not needed somewhere else. Did you pray yesterday? Good. Today is a new day. Pray again.

The Cornerstone

“…the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner…”  (I Peter 2:7)

Old houses built many years ago had stones placed every eight to twelve feet apart to make up the foundation.  The foundation was not continuous or solid like today’s houses. There was a huge stone at the corner. This was the cornerstone. The rest of the foundation stones were to align with the cornerstone. Our scripture verse is using the illustration of a discarded stone, thought to be unsuitable at first, but made the cornerstone.

Obviously, the illustration is speaking of Jesus, our Savior, the Son of God. The Bible says, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” (John 1:11)  The Jews rejected Him all the way to a horrible death on the cross of Calvary. But, God had not rejected Him. He was “…disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.”  (I Peter 2:4)

Many today still reject the Cornerstone, but He is and forever shall be the Cornerstone of the church, of Christianity, of Godly homes and of an honorable society. He is the Cornerstone of life. For a stable and firm foundation for living, build your life on Jesus Christ.

A Healthy Baby

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye might grow thereby…”  (I Peter 2:2)

It has been said that, “a healthy baby is a hungry baby.” A hungry baby will wake up his parents in the middle of the night wanting to be fed. It does not matter to a hungry baby that you are tired and want to sleep. They do not mind letting you know that they are hungry.

It can also be said that a spiritually healthy Christian is a hungry Christian. Show me a Christian who reads and studies the Bible, attends a church where the Bible is taught, participates in Bible study and listens to the Bible preached from the pulpit and I’ll show you a healthy Christian.

On the other hand, if a Christian seldom reads his Bible, has no appetite for Bible study and Bible preaching that Christian is not growing. He is not healthy spiritually. That’s not judging. That’s a simple observation.

I challenge you, whether you are a new Christian, known as a, “babe in Christ,” or if you have been saved many years, get in the word. Feed on the milk of the word and graduate to the meat of the word. 

Hindered Prayers

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them (your wife) according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” (I Peter 3:7)

A pastor friend told me of serving as the evangelist in a revival. He and the pastor were making late afternoon evangelism visits in the community. They stopped by the pastor’s house for a cup of coffee. The pastor got mad at his wife and as he was storming out of the back door he threw his coffee cup at his wife, barely missing her face.

My pastor friend followed him out the back door and got in the car with the other pastor who said, “Let’s go to church and pray and then make another visit or two before church.”

My friend said, “Brother, the very next thing you need to do is go back in there and apologize to you wife and get things right with her. God won’t hear anything you say in a prayer until you do.”

God Knew You Before Your Were Born

“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, “Before I formed thee in the womb I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

In these two verses we observe God’s hand and influence in the life of Jeremiah and in our lives as well.

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah when he was a young man. He grew up in the home of his father, Hilkiah, one of the priests of the Lord. He had been exposed as a young man to the things of God. We make a huge mistake today not bringing up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and not exposing them to the things of God.

Notice the involvement of God upon children even before they are born.

• God forms us in the womb.
• He knows us even before we are conceived. It should come as no surprise to know that your life began at conception.
• God sets us apart for His service before we are born.
• While our assignment for life may not be that of prophet of God, He does have an assignment for us.
• God had His hand on you before you were born and still loves you and knows you. Have you surrendered your life to the One who knows and loves you better than anyone else?

Our nation is guilty of the innocent blood of  millions of unborn babies aborted, slaughtered in their mothers’ wombs, with the blessings of Supreme Court justices and politicians who are worshipping at the altar of political expediency.

Happiness: Knowing and Doing the Will of God

“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (John 13:17)

“Just one more tattoo and I’ll be happy,” someone says. After one more and then another and another until there is no more space for another they still aren’t happy. Just one more drink, just one more joint, just one more escapade and I’ll be happy. Just one more car or house or motor-cycle or…

Do you want to be happy? Happiness is dependent on two things. The first is knowing the will of God and the second is doing the will of God. Man will never be happy without knowing and doing the will of God.

You can discover God’s will for your life when you surrender your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ and regularly, faithfully and prayerfully read the Bible. After you know the will of God then do what He has told you to do. That’s happiness.

Billy Graham wrote a book entitled, “The Secret of Happiness.” Later someone else wrote a book entitled, “Happiness is no Secret.”

The Suffering of Good People

“…the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (II Corinthians 1:3-4)

There are many answers to the question, “Why do good people suffer?” One of the answers is in our text and the surrounding verses.

When a Bible-believing Christian goes through a trial, some kind of suffering, he/she receives comfort and strength from the “God of all comfort.”

If you were to be diagnosed with incurable, inoperable cancer you should pray, of course, and trust God. You should draw strength from God’s Word. You should also seek out someone whom you know as a strong Christian who has experienced the same sickness to pray with you. And when he says, “I understand,” you could believe him. You would know that you are not suffering alone.

And, should someone come to you with that sickness later you would be thankful that God allowed you to suffer in a way that you would be better able to minister to that person as you had been ministered to.

The Unequal Yoke

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?”

(II Corinthians 6:14)

A believer, a Christian, being unequally yoked with an unbeliever is like having an ox and a donkey yoked together. They are of totally different natures. One pulls slowly and methodically. The other prefers a more up-tempo gate. The ox is a “clean” animal, chewing his cud and parting his hoof. The donkey is an unclean animal, does not chew his cud and does not part his hoof.

When God gave the command in Deuteronomy 22:10, “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass (donkey) together,” He was teaching a lesson on the “unequal yoke” that Paul speaks of in our text. A believer and an unbeliever have different natures. The believer’s Master is the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer walks in the ways of God. He wants to please the Lord with his life. The unbeliever’s master is the devil. Jesus said, “The unbeliever is of his father, the devil, and the lusts of his father he will do.” (John 8:44)

My advice to young Christians is to not marry an unbeliever. If you do you will have trouble with your father-in-law, the devil, for the rest of your life or until your mate changes masters. If a Christian doesn’t date a non-Christian you are not likely to marry a non-Christian.

Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:8)

When my parents died, my father in 1972 and my mother in 1998, my brothers, sister and I had funerals for them. The only ones not present at their funerals were our parents. When they closed their eyes in death their spirits left their bodies. They were both believers and lived what they believed. We had the Biblical assurance that they were absent from their bodies and present with the Lord. Their bodies are still in their graves, side by side, awaiting the resurrection.  Their spirits have been enjoying heaven in the presence of the Lord.

I am able to conduct funerals for Christians with the same assurance I had for my parents: absent from the body, present with the Lord.

I talked recently with an acquaintance about a mutual friend of ours, a brother in Christ, who has incurable, inoperable cancer. Absent from the diseased body and present with the Lord Jesus Christ is a prospect beyond compare.

Discernment

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1)

The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Triune God-head. Space will not permit a detailed study of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit here. However, He is called our Comforter. He is a person. He came on the Day of Pentecost, filled every believer in the upper room and comes to abide in people when they give their lives to Jesus as they become saved. The Holy Spirit inspired men of God to write what they heard from God. These words are our Bible.

There are other spirits, not holy, not of God, in opposition to God, but able to lead the unsuspecting astray. Cults are founded by people who are moved by those unholy spirits. They have just enough truth to make them sound legitimate. That is why John counsels us to try the spirits to see if they are of God.

What are some of the tests for trying the spirits? First, does what they teach line up with Biblical doctrine? This is not like horse-shoes: close does not count. Second, what does their teaching say concerning Jesus, His virgin birth and His being the Son of God? What does it say about the absolute necessity of and the all sufficiency of the blood atonement of Jesus Christ for our sins? What do they say about His resurrection, the priest-hood of Christ, His Lordship and His second coming?

The word we are looking for is “discernment.” Have discernment in life, in Bible study, in temptations and in decisions.

Pillows Made from Stones

“And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.” (Genesis 28:16)

Jacob had been running from his brother, Esau, who had sworn to kill him. In his weariness Jacob took stones and made pillows for his head and lay down and went to sleep. He dreamed that a ladder was set up from earth to heaven and angels were ascending and descending on it.

It was here that God spoke to him and assured him that he would be with him and keep him. With that, Jacob awoke and concluded that God was in that place, but he did not know it.

There have been revival meetings and other meetings of God’s people that brought shouts of praise, contrition, weeping, repentance and renewal of vows. People did not want to leave. In that same service there were people unmoved by any of it. The Lord was in that place but they did not know it.

Dry-eyed formalism has been the beginning of the death knell for many churches. The psalmist said, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4)

You Cannot Please Everyone

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)

“Peace at any cost,” is the slogan of many folks, even of many in the churches. We pastors feel pressured to maintain peace and harmony.

Many years ago I invited three black children to come to Vacation Bible School in our predominately white church. When I brought those children to church on Monday morning I discovered a pastor cannot please all the people all the time and please God at the same time.

My Bible reading sometime that week brought me to the verse which is our text today. God spoke to me and has given me assurance that pleasing Him is all that really matters.

The false prophets of whom Jesus spoke wanted it both ways. They wanted to please both sides on issues and still be thought of as a prophet of God. That is an absurd impossibility. One day we preachers and pastors will stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ and give an account of our stewardship as ministers of the Word of God.

Give Me Oil in My Lamp…

“And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)

Jesus withdrew Himself from people, went alone into the wilderness and prayed. There was plenty for Him to do. He had just healed a man who had leprosy. There were other sick people including the crippled, blind and deaf folks. But He needed to be alone with the Father and pray. He was not being negligent or unkind by getting away to pray.

When we fail to pray we find ourselves trying to justify our prayerlessness by saying, “I have too much to do. I’ll pray when I get through here.” When we do that we are attempting to the work of the Lord in the energy of the flesh.

Many young preachers have said, “I don’t want to rust out. I want to burn out for Jesus.” That sounds noble, but I have discovered that a lamp empty of oil is burning the wick only and smokes up the chimney so badly it gives no light.  We need to take the time to fill our lamps with fresh oil or else our “burning out” will make us useless.

The Sin of Small Expectation

“He (Jesus) said unto Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.’ And Simon answering said unto Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.’”(Luke 5:4-5)

I call this, “the sin of small expectation.” At first glance we might think that Simon was being obedient when he said to Jesus, “at thy word I will let down the net.” But, Jesus did not say, “Let down the net” (singular). He said, “Let down your nets” (plural).

Simon was disobedient because he did not expect anything to happen. “After all,” Simon may have reasoned, “I have devoted my life to fishing. I know this lake, I know these fish, I know about nets and how to cast them out. I’ll stick to fishing. Jesus should stick to preaching and teaching.”

He did not expect to catch any fish after a night of no success. It is a common sin to have small expectations in the Lord’s work. Many people have small expectations when they attend church. It has been said that if you go to church expecting nothing to happen you won’t be disappointed when nothing happens. The same is true when praying. If we pray without faith, expecting nothing to happen, don’t be disappointed when nothing happens.

If the Lord tells you to cast out your nets don’t be satisfied just casting out one net. Cast out every net you have and expect something great to happen.

Jesus Can Change You

“And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore unto him fourfold.” (Luke 19:8)

The publicans were Jewish citizens who were employed as tax collectors for the Roman government. It was common for the publicans to be dishonest in their positions. Whatever they could collect above the taxes imposed by Rome they were allowed to keep.

Zacchaeus went up the sycamore tree to better see Jesus and came down to receive Him. He was a changed man. It has often been said, “The proof is in the pudding.” I fear that many have “gone up the tree” to get a better look at Jesus but when they came down they failed to receive Him. A changed life is the best proof of salvation. Zacchaeus was changed.

A fifty-eight year old friend of mine was lost. He went to a revival meeting, met and received the Savior in the service, went home and poured all his beer and liquor down the kitchen sink, and when his wife asked him what he was doing, he said, “I won’t be needing that stuff any more.” He never drank another drop of alcohol for the rest of his life. He attended church regularly, visited the lost and taught Sunday school. Jesus changed him. Jesus can change you just like He did Zacchaeus and my friend.

God Loves You

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God...” (I John 3:1)

We are not just called the sons or children of God, but by faith in Jesus Christ we are the children of God. The New American Standard Bible and some other translations add the words, “and such we are.”

God’s love is not “eros” or “erotica,” as portrayed by Hollywood, which could better be called “lust” than love, as one animal has for another. Neither is His love, “phileo” or brotherly love. The Bible says, “Let brotherly love continue.” (Hebrews 13:1) His love is rather, “agape,” as in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”

God’s love is inclusive, not exclusive. He loves all of us: the rich, the poor, good or bad, the educated and the illiterate, the handsome and pretty or the ugly and homely, people of all races. His love is active and demonstrated, not passive and all talk.

The best part is God loves you.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

What is this “gospel” which Paul was ready to preach, of which he was not ashamed and which was the power of God to salvation? In I Corinthians 15:1-4 he says the gospel is the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary, His burial and His resurrection, all according to the scriptures. The word, “gospel” means good news.

Man does not need a new philosophy, a new religion, or more education to change his life. None of those will change him or make him suitable for heaven.  Paul was not ashamed or disappointed in the gospel because he had seen the changes it had made in his life and the lives of others.

The gospel can make a thief honest, an adulterer or adulteress clean, a homosexual straight, a drunkard sober and a liar truthful because it is the power of God unto salvation. 

I Am Ready

“So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.” (Romans 1:15)

Paul the apostle was a hungry man who had found food telling other hungry men where to find food. He had found and had nourished his soul with the Bread of Life. In light of that hunger being satisfied he declares our second, “I am” in Romans chapter one.

“I am ready.” Readiness is one of the main watchwords of the Christian faith. “Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44)An old song says, “Ready to go, ready to stay, ready my place to fill: Ready for service, lowly or great; Ready to do His will.”

Paul’s assignment was to preach. He declares in our text that he is ready to do the work that God has given him to do. What is your assignment?

God has gifted every believer, every Christian with a gift, talent or assignment. We have been given a stewardship. Our attitude should be one of readiness. Loosen your grip on the world and loosen the grip the world has on you and fulfill God’s will for your life. 

In Debt

“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and the unwise.” (Romans 1:14)

There are many “I am” titles given to Jesus. For instance, He said, “I am the bread of life.” “I am the door.” “I am the Good Shepherd.” “I am the vine.” There are many others.

His followers have some “I am’s,” also. We find three of these in the first chapter of Romans. The first one is found in our text. “I am debtor…” Paul is describing his responsibility of sharing the Gospel with mankind. He is in debt.

This is the kind of debt a starving man who has found food has to other starving men who have not found food. It is the kind of debt a trained and skilled cancer surgeon has to folks who have cancer. It is the kind of debt a person who has been rescued from a burning house has to those still in the house.

This debt will never be paid as long as there are lost people yet to be saved. You and I are debtors to this generation of lost people just as every Christian before us was debtor to their generation and every redeemed soul of the next generation shall be debtors to their generation.